Forsaken
by Ellethiriel
Summary: Did she do something to make him mad? Is that why Ben's just leaving her here with a stranger? Oneshot based on the theory that Kylo Ren left Rey on Jakku. (Now proven to be AU, but I will always like the theory.)
**So you've probably seen the theory floating around that Ben is the one who dropped Rey off on Jakku to protect her when Ben was forced to kill Luke's students. This is my take on how that went.**

 **If it wasn't obvious, I don't own the theory, just the execution.**

 **Rey is four, Ben is fifteen.**

* * *

Rey wonders for the hundredth time what's going on.

It's chilly in the ship, and she shivers, rubbing her bare arms and pulling her knees up to her chest. The lowest bun in her hair bobs against her neck with the movement, and she runs her hand over it, reminding herself of how grown-up she is - she did her hair herself without any help! But when she'd tried to tell Ben about her accomplishment earlier, he just ignored her.

She can see Ben, hunched over in the pilot's seat, his back to her, outlined against the stars. Rey hasn't been in space much and stars are so pretty, but they're boring to look at now and he hasn't spoken to her once since they started off.

"Where are we _going_?" she asks again in a small voice, clasping her hands together around her knees. "Please tell me."

Ben seems to stiffen and clenches the controls tighter. Rey can see the whiteness of his knuckles starkly contrasting his dark sleeves. "Shut. Up," he grits out. "Please. Just shut up! I'm doing this for your own good!"

Rey's eyes widen. Ben's always been like her brother and he's never told her to shut up before. Her lip quivers and tears form in her eyes. She flops over in the cushioned seat, presses her face into it, and begins to cry quietly.

Behind her, she can hear Ben moving around in his seat. She wonders if he's paying attention to her now and maybe feels sorry about how he's been acting and is going to tell her so. But he doesn't come over, doesn't apologize, and gradually she stops crying and just lies there limply.

She's awfully tired because Ben came into her room that morning while it was still dark outside and woke her up. He seemed angry and fearful and horrified all at the same time, even more so than he'd been for the past week. His dark tunic was stained even darker in some places, spattered with something Rey didn't recognize. Gruffly, he ordered her to get dressed because they were going on a trip.

"But where are we going? Does Master Luke know? And I'm too tired!" Rey complained.

To her surprise, he grabbed her arm and yanked her out of bed and whispered, "Kriff it, it's for your own good! Come on, Rey! We don't have much time!" And he made her get dressed and then marched her out the door into the chilly darkness, and they got in a ship and took off.

Just remembering, Rey feels dejected and helpless. Did she do something to make Ben mad without even knowing? Is that why he is taking her away in the middle of the night? She wants to go back home, where it's safe and warm and familiar and Master Luke is nice to her and Ben is never mean to her. She closes her eyes and wraps herself in those thoughts, feeling somewhat comforted. Ben will take her back home soon, right?

* * *

It's Ben who wakes her up. Something shakes her shoulder and she opens her eyes groggily to see him standing over her. The events of the past few hours flash back into her mind, and she sits bolt upright.

"Are we home?"

But no. Even as she says this she glances past Ben and out the viewport and sees daylight - daylight shining on yellow sand stretching for as far as she can see.

"No," Ben says, and her attention jerks back to him. He looks terrible, his face so pale that it's almost the complete opposite of his black hair. She suddenly feels sorry for him, even if he has been mean to her. "Come on, Rey." He holds out his hand, and she takes his thumb in hers and follows him over to the open entry ramp.

Warm air blows over her face as they step off the ramp. She looks around in open-mouthed astonishment. There is sand everywhere, covering the ground, piled in dunes in the distance, and even swirling around her ankles in the scant breeze. The few buildings nearby are ramshackle and practically falling apart, and the few people walking around are in nearly the same condition. Ben keeps walking; they step out of the shadow of the ship and into hot sunlight. Rey blinks and squints but doesn't let go of Ben's hand.

"What are we doing?" she asks.

Ben doesn't reply; he bites his lip, looking stricken. Rey yanks her hand away. She's had enough.

"What are we doing?! Tell me now, or I'm gonna tell Master Luke when we get back!"

At that moment her attention is distracted by an ugly creature approaching them. He's heavyset and blubbery, and Rey detests him at once. Ben swallows and walks over to him, and Rey slowly follows.

"Unkar Plutt?" he says to the ugly creature, his voice wavering. "This - this is Rey, like I told you. Take good care of her now, a-alright?"

Unkar nods. "How much are you giving me? Taking care of a little girl won't be cheap. Especially if, as you say, someone's after her."

Rey suddenly realizes what is going on. Ben is leaving her here, leaving her alone in a desert with this strange ugly alien, and the realization scares her out of her wits. "No! No! You're not leaving me here, Ben!" she screams, grabbing the older boy's leg and hanging on. Tears stream down her cheeks, and she clings to him so hard that she knows he'll have no choice but to take her back home, take her back to Master Luke and her friends, and not leave her with this horrible alien person.

But Ben hands something over to the blubbery creature, and then Rey is so surprised she lets go of Ben and falls in a heap to the ground. Ben, one of the people who cares about her the most, has betrayed her. He isn't her friend, not anymore. Anger washes over her.

The next thing she knows, Ben is kneeling in front of her.

"Rey, I'm sorry," he says quietly, staring into her eyes. "I don't want to do this, okay? But I don't have any choice." He looks on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry," he mutters again. "But at least he won't find you here."

Then he reaches out his hand toward her, fingers splayed, palm outwards. Rey's angry reply dies on her lips. She feels dizzy at first, then gets the sense that a dark blanket is being spread over her mind. She cannot remember how her journey that morning started, she cannot remember what her room back home looks like, and she wonders if Master Luke knows what's happening to her. Then she wonders who Master Luke even is before the thought is jerked away and she loses it amid the whirlwind that is her mind.

The last shred of memory she grabs at before it disappears is of Ben standing in front of her in the training room months before, grinning at something she'd said. And then she can't remember who exactly Ben is anymore. There's only a nagging dark space in the back of her mind, full of shrouded images and phantom memories.

Her eyes come into focus and she stares at the boy in front of her. She feels that she knows him, and she also is sure that he took her here in a ship and that he should be her friend, but she _cannot_ remember his name or who he is. Her lip quivers with fear.

The boy stands up, looking so lost she can't help but feel even more frightened. "I'm gonna come back someday when it's safe. Okay, Rey? I'll come back someday when it's safe, so wait for me here." With a shaky nod at the blubbery creature, the boy sprints away. Towards a ship. The ship she arrived in - she knows that much.

And she knows something else.

He's leaving her.

Rey screams again and lunges forward. "Come back! Come back! Don't leave me here!" But the creature grips her arm and holds her there, and she can only watch, sobbing, as the ramp is raised and the ship takes off again in a whirl of sand.

And she's never felt so alone.

* * *

Years later, strapped in a metal chair in the First Order base, she feels a strange nagging again. There's something familiar about her interrogator, but try as she might, she is not sure where she's seen him, or even if she's ever seen him.

But then, as the questions continue ruthlessly, she becomes certain that they never knew each other.

* * *

 **So, yeah, my idea is that Ben suppressed her memories to help keep her safe. She hasn't lost them; they're still there, just waiting for her to dig them up.**

 **Review? :)**


End file.
